I am having a hard time believing it’s been three years since the first season of Beef graced my television screen, but I guess time really does fly sometimes! The second season in this anthology series couldn’t have presented a more different cast of characters, but we still get a dose of Korean action, as well as, you know, beef.
This time, the main drama centers around boarderline rich couple, Josh and Lindsay, the former of whom is the general manager at a country club, and paycheck to paycheck Gen Z couple, Austin and Ashley, who both work at the club. The first episode sets up the beef for the rest of the season. Josh lets the club know that their new chairwoman, Park, will be starting soon, so some staff gets let go. After hosting a fundraising event at the club, Josh and Lindsay get into a really heated and boarderline violent arguement about their increasing debt and failed marriage. Austin and Ashley witness this as they go to return Josh’s wallet, but run away in a panic when they are noticed.
Things could be fine and dandy if Ashley hadn’t recorded the whole thing. At first they are just going to let it go, but then a medical emergency makes Ashley reconsider the leverage she has against Josh and Lindsay. She and Austin agree to blackmail them into getting her a better job at the club that includes medical insurance. I will say it was both sad and funny watching them learn later how shitty that insurance actually was. On top of being under Austin and Ashley’s thumb, Josh finds himself in further hot water when it’s discovered that he’s been embezzeling money from the club to try and help pay off his debts. This now puts him at Chairwoman Park’s mercy, as well.
Chairwoman Park has her own issues back home in Korea. She’s extremely wealthy, meaning she’s in some hot water with the government. That ultimately wouldn’t be an issue, except her husband, a younger and prominent surgeon in Seoul, ends up killing a patient because of tremors he’s been experiencing. This means she needs to cover up the crime through bribes, all of which she funnels through the club and Josh’s sign-off. Josh and Lindsay’s relationship is like a rollarcoaster, at times strong and loving, but most of the time it’s mean and a little vindictive. Alternatively, we witness the degredation of Austin and Ashley’s once totally formidible relationship. Ashley is almost power hungry, while Austin finds a connection to his Korean side through Chairwoman Park’s assistant.
The whole bunch of this cast is untrustworthy, and things get truly bonkers in the final two episodes. It’s not that I don’t think stuff like this couldn’t happen in real life, but it did make me feel like I had to suspend disbelief a bit. Or maybe that’s just the rich, California of it all. As a middle-class Ohioan, I could never. But I did like how much Josh and Lindsay tried to fit into the rich world in which they worked. I think that was ultimately their undoing. And although Austin and Ashley’s idealic, young romance was admirable, when they finally got put through some trials and tribulations, they weren’t as strong and on the same page as they claimed to be. I think some people could be a bit unhappy with how everything turns out in the end, but I do think it was a pretty realistic way to land on things.
For me, this season was so completely different from the first that I think it would be unfair to compare them. As a standalone piece of work, this season was a lot of fun. It was intense, but silly in a lot of ways, and I think that really showcases the flexibility creator and showrunner, Lee Sung Ji has. I’ll be curious to see if there will be more Beef in the future, but I do know that I’ll be tuned into it for sure!